1. Field of Use
The invention relates generally to scientific instruction processors and more specifically to the rounding operation of operands.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Rounding is the arithmetic operation whereby the least significant digits retained in a truncation of an operand are adjusted to partially reflect the dropped portion of the operand.
Prior art systems such as those described in U.S. Application Ser. No. 000,398 which was, filed Jan. 2, 1979, entitled "Apparatus for Improving the Rounding Operation for Long Operands" require a separate arithmetic cycle for performing the rounding operation. This separate cycle is required even if there is no rounding carry-over into the least significant bit or digit position.
Other systems such as the Honeywell Level 6/40 system perform the rounding operation and require a number of firmware cycles.
The prior art systems have the disadvantage of performing the rounding operation by requiring an excessive number of machine cycles or by requiring a separate machine cycle to perform the rounding operation.
It should be understood that the references cited herein are those with which the applicants are aware and are presented to acquaint the reader with the level of skill in the art and may not be the closest reference to the invention. No representation is made that any search has been conducted by the applicants.